MSF's publications are an expression of our belief in the principle of témoignage, or bearing witness, and the belief that we are accountable to those we work for and with. Sharing news about our activities and reflecting on them, offering critiques when necessary, are therefore crucial aspects of our work.

What began in 2011 in Syria as protests inspired by the Arab Spring has become an entrenched and bloody conflict that shows no sign of resolution. Today, with an estimated 200,000 people killed and 7.6 million people displaced within the country and 3.2 million refugees registered outside, Syria is seen as the world’s most grave humanitarian disaster. In the face of this crisis, the previously functioning health system has collapsed and scores of thousands of medical staff have fled.

Tens of thousands of people in Myanmar’s Rakhine state are able to access basic health care and emergency referral from medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) for the first time in over nine months. Following instructions to MSF Holland to cease activities last February, these primary health clinics restarted on December 17, 2014.

Since MSF-Holland was ordered to suspend all activities in Myanmar's Rakhine State, the organization has engaged in high-level discussions with the Union Government of Myanmar on the need to maintain essential medical services for hundreds of thousands of people in the state who are facing a medical humanitarian crisis.

Yangon/New York, March 1, 2014 -- On February 27, Médecins Sans Frontières Holland (MSF) received a written order from the Union Government of Myanmar to cease all operations in the country, which led to a full closure of all MSF Holland clinics on February 28. This act left patients confused and desperately concerned across the whole country.

AMSTERDAM/NEW YORK, FEBRUARY 28, 2014 – Médecins Sans Frontières Holland (MSF) has been ordered by the Union Government of Myanmar to cease all activities in the country. MSF is deeply shocked by this unilateral decision and extremely concerned about the fate of tens of thousands of patients currently under MSF's care across the country.